Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu said on Saturday that the state has suffered a loss of about Rs 8,000 crore due to heavy rains. According to the State Emergency Response Center, the loss till Friday night was around Rs 4000 crore and Sukhu has sought an interim relief amount of Rs 2000 crore from the Union Home Ministry. Sukhu said in a statement issued here that about 70,000 tourists stranded in the state were evacuated to safer places, while 15,000 vehicles were sent out. About 500 tourists voluntarily decided to stay here. Some tourists stranded in Kasol, Manikaran and other nearby areas of Kullu district have refused to leave without their vehicles and have decided to stay here till the situation returns to normal and all roads are opened.
Services temporarily restored
Due to a landslide near Dunkhra on the Kasol-Bhuntar road, vehicles got stuck and tourists had to walk to reach the other side. The state government said that these tourists are being taken care of. The statement said that electricity, water and telecommunication services have been temporarily restored in 80 percent of the disaster-affected areas and efforts are being made to restore essential services in the remaining areas as soon as possible. Bus service of Himachal Road Transport Corporation (HRTC) is closed on 899 routes and 256 buses have been stopped midway. Officials said that HRTC has suffered a loss of Rs 5.56 crore.
Alert issued for rain
Meanwhile, the local office of the Meteorological Department has issued an orange alert predicting heavy to very heavy rainfall at isolated places in 10 of the 12 districts of the state, except Lahaul-Spiti and Kinnaur, from July 15 to 17. Along with this, it has predicted landslides, sudden floods, and increase in the water level of rivers and drains. The Met Office has issued a “yellow” alert warning of heavy rains on July 18 and has predicted more rain in the state till July 21. The state has received 284.1 millimeters (mm) of rain so far in July, which is 157 percent more than the normal rainfall i.e. 110.4 mm. Light to heavy rains continued in some parts of the state, with Dharamshala receiving 131 mm of rain. Whereas, Palampur received 51 mm, Sundernagar and Nahan (45 mm each), Kangra (27 mm), Mandi and Narkanda received 16 mm each.
Flood caused by melting glacier
Seven families have been evacuated to safer places after the flood caused by the melting of the glacier in Kholaksa, located about three kilometers from Losar in Lahaul-Spiti district of Himachal Pradesh. However, no casualty has been reported. Deputy Commissioner of Lahaul-Spiti, Rahul Kumar told that there was flood late night and agricultural land was damaged. Seven families have been shifted to safer places. Local residents said that due to the melting of snow and glaciers, there has been an alarming rise in the water level of several rivers and streams in the area and efforts are on to divert the water to the barren land.
Center stands with states in times of crisis: Nadda
Here BJP national president JP Nadda has said that the Center stands with the states dealing with the situation after heavy rains. Nadda said that the Central Government has released the second installment of Rs 181 crore for Himachal Pradesh. Nadda visited flood-affected areas in Kullu and Mandi districts and said the Centre’s grant would help in reducing the state’s debt burden which has increased due to damage caused by the rains.
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In an official statement, he said that the Union Home Minister Amit Shah has approved the release of advance amount of Rs 180.40 crore towards the second installment of the central share of the State Disaster Response Fund for 2023-24 to Himachal Pradesh as an interim relief. It has been said in the statement that the release of funds will help the state government to take relief measures for the people affected by the rains.
Central government will provide all possible help to disaster affected states- Anurag Thakur
Here, Union Minister Anurag Thakur said that the central government is trying its best to help all the states including Himachal Pradesh affected by natural calamities. He said that the central government has already released Rs 361 crore in two installments and more financial assistance will be released soon. Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu said on Saturday that the state has suffered a loss of about Rs 8,000 crore due to the rains.
